Romantic Merger Between Sanyo and Matsushita

In 1917, the founder of Matsushita, Konosuke Matsushita, married the sister of the founder of Sanyo, Toshio Iue, and, some years later, Toshio Iue married the sister of Konosuke Matsushita.

At the time of Matsushita's marriage, he asked his brother-in-law to join him in his business.

Iue was only 14, but he took up the offer and worked for Matsushita for 28 years, for most of the time as Konosuke Matsushita's No. 2. 

In 1945, the US forces occupying Japan sought to punish companies which had been involved in helping Japan's war effort. The punishment for Matsushita was that it must get rid of one executive officer.

Konosuke Matsushita would have taken the responsibility for the company's actions and was ready to leave, but Iue insisted on leaving instead.

Then Iue's bankers called him in to point out that the loans they had advanced him to buy shares in Matsushita were worth less than the Matsushita shares which he had bought with the loan. The war had hit all Japanese share prices massively.

But, instead of calling in the loan, the bankers, suggested that Iue set himself up in a new business with their backing.

And that's how Sanyo got started.